Kickstarter has been a breeding ground for 3D printers for years now. And why shouldn’t it be? It is the perfect platform to pitch a product and if the hype surrounding it delivers, you suddenly have the necessary funds to make your product a reality. And while it’s true that sifting through the mess of offerings over the years to determine the next big product can be frustrating, most of the consumer friendly 3D printers with any lasting impact in recent years have seen their start through the crowdfunding platform.

It seems the Kickstarter production push continues now that UNIZ Slash, a new stereolithography (SLA) resin based 3D printer, has officially launched their campaign.

What at first glance looks like your standard desktop based SLA 3D printer, the UNIZ Slash 3D printer claims to be different by being able to produce faster (by up to 50x) and more robust 3D prints than the competition.

This claim does seem to have some merit to it based on everything I can gather from the technology (as described on the Kickstarter campaign page). Unlike FDM plastic based extrusion 3D printers and laser-based SLA machines, the UNIZ Slash 3D printer uses an array of LCD panels to print entire layers at once, instead of needing to draw each and every line of every layer in a slow zig-zag of a way.

Projection based DLP 3D printers, which utilize a similar all-at-once layer blast, are said to be limited because of the intense temperatures that each layer is exposed to vs. the time it takes to cool. What this means is that for every layer produced, additional time is needed to cool things down. The UNIZ Slash 3D printer overcomes this obstacle with integrated liquid cooling for faster than ever layer production.

Besides the scientific workings of this 3D printer, it’s the promise of speed, reliability (especially for large parts that other SLA printers have trouble with), software inginuity and low-cost that should have you excited the most.

Coming in at $1,199 for the still available early-bird package (includes 500ml of resin), the price is a steal for what you’re getting no matter how you slice it. The premium machined parts are also said to guarantee the longevity of the unit. They claim their resin tank is designed to last up to 1,000 printing hours (supposedly 10 to 100 times more than other resin based containers).

A longer tank life, as one can imagine, translates to savings down the road and more importantly a higher success rate on your prints. I’m not going to lie, I’ve felt much frustration throughout the years when my Form-1+ tank had a little use based cloud to it that prevented me from producing reliable 3D prints.

Beyond this, the UNIZ Slash 3D printer is designed to be plug-and-play and is equipped with powerful smart-phone compatible software and a 3D print online store out of the box. While some of these buzz-words may appear gimmicky in some ways, innovations in software such as customizable z-resolution profiles have been undeniably useful.

This is a tool that really should be implemented into every slicing software, as it allows you to choose different layer resolution on the same print. This means if you are 3D printing a human body, you can put more detail in the face and save time on the more generic body elements.

Of course, just like every Kickstarter campaign that’s come before, the journey for the UNIZ3D team behind the the UNIZ Slash 3D printer is just beginning. Final design touches in both hardware as well as software and supply-chain production obstacles still need to be overcome long before any backer will see their 3D printer reward (currently scheduled for December 2017 - March of 2017).

But heck, Rome wasn’t built in one day. As I mentioned at the start of this article, Kickstarters have been responsible for pushing 3D print technology ahead in recent years and for all we know this might be the next big thing. Print speed, volume, and cost are the three major obstacles 3D printing has been humbled with for years now. The UNIZ Slash 3D printer addresses all three of these in a very convincing manner. Definitely worth checking out.

Following up on my previous post...
The official UniZ forum was taken down for a time, after suffering a deluge of porn and ads. When it returned, the questions still weren't answered; and certain questions critical of the company had also been removed.
In July of 2017, I contacted Glidewell Labs, trying to learn if the printer even exists. A technician there confirmed that they've been testing the printer for UniZ, but he wasn't allowed to give any details other than that the printer is working well.
On the Kickstarter page for the project, only backers are allowed to post, and the crowd seems to be split in the issue of whether or not this it's all a scam. UniZ posts the occasional update about which trade shows they'll be attending, but does little to answer the numerous questions (and growing suspicion) about why the product is overdue.
UniZ claims they've sent out a dozen printers (in order to get PayPal to release their funds), yet I've not found any 'blog posts or video reviews that normally would've popped up by now. Considering the amount of money they collected, maybe they were able to cobble together a dozen printers, and have chosen to abscond with the remainder of the cash?

David wrote at 7/9/2017 7:30:46 AM:

This Kickstarter project is now 7 months late in delivering product to the backers AND Uniz has quit posting updates, responding to backers' questions, and answering emails. I believe it is a scam but you can decide for yourself after you read the comments from backers at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/644653534/slash-the-next-level-of-affordable-professional-3d/comments

John wrote at 12/7/2016 3:10:37 PM:

It's been months since they answered any questions on their forum. Is it a scam?

John wrote at 12/7/2016 3:09:57 PM:

It's been months since they answered any questions on their forum. Is it a scam?

Frank Wu wrote at 4/13/2016 5:20:13 AM:

Hello, my friend.
How much Slash Led 3D printer?
And how much the resin?
How much by the shipping price?
How pay the money to you?
Our address: Lixin Road No:16. Longgang district, Shenzhen City.
My cell phone +86 18302098365
Reply me ASAP

C. wrote at 4/1/2016 9:30:50 PM:

1) The article says "December 2017-March 2017", but it's supposed to be "December 2016-March 2017".
2) They don't use UV light with the LCD, they use a wavelength of blue to cure the resin. It's not normal UV curing resin, it's a different formulation.

Ka wrote at 3/30/2016 5:37:11 PM:

Long exposure to UV light will damage LCD panels. Did they find a solution for this, or just ignore this problem?

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